Types of Comfort
by nekilarose
Summary: Philip and Carly unexpectedly stumble across ways to comfort them both.
1. Chapter 1

It was supposed to be just a one-time thing.

He hadn't even realized he was doing it, but after a particularly long and arduous mission, he felt the beginning throbs of a massive headache coming on. He released his hair from its tied back state and breathed a sigh of relief. It wouldn't stop the oncoming headache, he knew this for a fact, but it did alleviate some of the pressure on his head.

His predicament didn't go unnoticed by his team. Marcy offered him a mild pain reliever, which he turned down, he was trying to stay away from any unnecessary medication. Trevor offered to sit with him and meditate for a while when they got back to the warehouse, he declined this as well. Meditation was never his thing, besides, he doubted he'd be able to concentrate on anything other than the fact that his head was throbbing.

He had closed his eyes and was leaning against the wall of the van when he felt Carly shift next to him, he idly wondered what she was doing when he felt her fingers card through his hair and settle at the base of his skull. No words were spoken between the two as she began a gentle (a lot more gentle than he would have given her credit for) massage.

The entire ride back to their base passed in what seemed like the blink of an eye, he protested slightly when she withdrew her hand. Giving her what she jokingly called his 'sad Philip' look.

"Don't get used to that, it was just a thank you for saving my ass back there." Carly's tone was half admonishment, half amusement. He gave her a grateful smile in return, a little surprised to find that his once throbbing head was now just a dull ache.

* * *

The situation arose again a few weeks later.

He and Trevor had spent most of the afternoon trying to get a handle on the multiple timeline issue that was causing him to be so distracted. Trevor had stepped out, something about having to go save someone from Grace. He was currently standing on the roof of the warehouse, just watching the various timelines play out, when Carly poked her head out.

"You gonna stay out here all night?"

"It's a lot easier at night. Less people to keep track of." He answered absentmindedly.

"Come inside, I'll make you some tea." She dropped back down, and he reluctantly followed.

Once he was back inside, he watched as one Carly was standing by the stove talking about the different types of tea with Trevor. Another Carly was laying on the couch with an arm over her eyes, clearly exhausted. There was one prone on the ground doing some kind of exercise with Marcy. There was another-

He squinted his eyes shut against the images. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he keep things straight?

"Hey, hey" Carly's voice broke through his self-flagellation. "You're seeing multiple time lines again aren't you?"

He nodded, "It wouldn't be so bad if I knew when and where it's gonna happen, but there's no reason or pattern to it."

There was a snort, "Please, there's a pattern to everything, you just have to be smart enough to see it."

"Who let you in here, Grace?"

"Okay!" Carly led Philip over to the couch and sat him down. "I thought you and Trevor were working on this?"

"His way of working on it was just to meditate a lot, which as you can see, is not really working for me. Every time I think about it too much, my head starts hurting again."

"Come here," She patted her lap. Philip stared at her in confusion. Carly rolled her eyes and physically pulled him down so his head lay in her lap. Much like the last time, she began to gently massage the base of his skull. "How are you so good at this?" The question slipped out. Her hands paused, and he was about to take the question back, when she resumed her ministrations.

"When we first came, and I was with Jeffrey Junior" She started haltingly, "I think he somehow knew I wasn't his mother, because he'd cry constantly. The only thing that got him to stop was when I did this." She shrugged, "It seemed to help, and eventually it became our little ritual. You know, something that was just for me and him."

"I'm sorry you lost your son." Philip said quietly.

"Thank you." She replied just as softly. Philip closed his eyes and enjoyed the stillness of the moment. It seemed that Carly needed this moment as much as he did, although for varying reasons. He was drifting off to sleep when he was jolted awake by Grace.

"How the hell was I supposed to know you can't tell a kid that? It's not my fault they're all sensitive idiots!"

"Grace!"

* * *

"What are you doing?"

The question startles Phillip, causing his hands to jerk and undo two long hours of progress. He groans in dismay as his hair falls around his face once more. He turns to face Carly, taking in her amused, but puzzled, expression.

"I was trying to do a braid. My understanding is that it's a perfectly acceptable hairstyle for men in this century." He looks back in the mirror, "One that I can't seem to master."

Carly tilts her head, "Why not just cut it, if it's getting in the way?"

"Protocol 5 says-" he starts.

"Protocol 5 simply says to maintain your hosts' life." She butts in, coming to stand next to him as they both look in the mirror. "Who knows, maybe he would have cut it eventually." She lifts a hand to play with a lock of his hair. Ever since that night when she'd opened up about her son, she'd been a lot more hands on with him. He didn't mind, between their daily chaotic lives and the most recent update that left him reeling, he eagerly welcomed the chance to just sit and be pampered. It wasn't an unfamiliar sight anymore to see him nestled in between her legs and her playing with his hair.

"You want help? I can do a mean French braid." Carly teased.

He turned to face her, taking in her riotous curls that more often than not were flying free. "I don't think I've ever seen you with your hair in braids."

She lifted a shoulder, "When I'm at home, and I need to pass the time. I've been studying all the various hairstyles that I've come across and even tried a few. Tell you what I'll come in tomorrow with my hair in a braid and if you like it, I'll braid yours too."

"Deal." He held out his hand for her to shake.

Of course they both knew she'd be braiding his hair tomorrow, regardless of what hers looked like.


	2. Music

The last few days had been rough for the whole team. Him getting kidnapped by The Faction, and learning that it was Hall's team that had betrayed them was a hard pill to swallow.

 _-Regrets collect like old friends._ _Here to relive your darkest moments. I can see no way, I can see no way_

Trevor freezing up again in the middle of the fight, and finally learning what was going on with him. Philip had been terrified that they would lose their engineer, the one alternate timeline that showed Trevor being shot at point blank range was horrifying. Luckily, Trevor had finally relented and let them help him with his problem.

 _-And all of the ghouls come out to play, And every demon wants his pound of flesh_

Dropping into his seat across from Poppy's tank, he thought about witnessing another Historian not be able to withstand the latest update and die in the middle of it. He didn't know which was sadder, the fact that it happened every session, or the fact that he'd somewhat gotten used to seeing it happen.

 _\- I like to keep my issues drawn, It's always darkest before the dawn_

He turned up the volume on his Ipod and began singing along softly as he fed Poppy.

" _And I've been a fool and I've been blind, I can never leave the past behind. I can see no way, I can see no way, I'm always dragging that horse around."_

His neck still throbbed where they cut out his comms, but he didn't want to take any of the medication that Marcy had left behind for him. That was also the reason he had stopped taking the pills that kept the timelines straight. He didn't want to get hooked on anything and start on that downward spiral again.

" _I like to keep my issues drawn, But it's always darkest before the dawn"_

There was no one else in the garage at this time. Trevor was off somewhere with Grace, while Marcy, Carly, and Mac had all gone back to their homes, so Philip felt no hesitation in singing louder with the chorus of the song:

 _Shake it out, shake it out,  
shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah  
Shake it out, shake it out,  
shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaaah And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back  
So shake him off, oh woah"_

His personal taste in music didn't really mesh with his host, but he'd found that he liked the mellow sound of Florence + The Machine. Often when he was alone, he would sing to himself to keep him calm while he perused the back channels or took care of Poppy's tank. There were times, like now, where he had the urge to sing out loud and he readily indulged himself. He hadn't done it since he'd sung to try and distract Carly from killing her hosts' boyfriend.

 _And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back  
And given half the chance would I take any of it back  
It's a fine romance but it's left me so undone  
It's always darkest before the dawn_

Thinking of Carly made him think back to the updates he'd received. The fact that he could now see multiple timelines caused him no small amount of grief. The fact that a suspicious amount of his alternate timelines involved the fate of that particular team member didn't go unnoticed by him. He knew that she'd had a thing with Mac in the future, and for a while they had tried to keep it going here in the 21st, but it was different seeing someone while in training, as opposed to an actual team member.

He wasn't even sure if he was truly interested, or if he was just curious because he saw it happen in another time line and was intrigued as to how they ended up in bed after going for coffee. Sure, she was beautiful, and even though she tried to hide it, her heart was big. It was also currently broken due to having to give her child away, and he didn't want to be another thing for her to deal with.

" _And I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't, So here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my road"_

He continued to sing as he tidied up around his work station, Poppy seemed to be into him singing. The turtled turned to watch him as moved around. He was so distracted by his duties that he didn't even notice that he was no longer alone until the door slammed.

Heart in this throat, he spun around to find Carly standing behind him, a surprised smile on her face. He watched in embarrassment as she walked over to the couch and retrieved her phone.

"Left my phone." She held up the device needlessly.

"Okay." Philip nodded, not meeting her eyes, hoping she would leave right away and not mention his singing. He blinked, and the timeline split. One Carly was standing there clapping, another was waving goodbye as she was walking out the door, and the last one was striding in his direction hands reaching out for him.

"-more often." Carly had been speaking to him while he was following the alternate timelines. "I'm sorry, what?"

She gave him a sympathetic smile, "I said, you should sing more often. You have a nice voice. Very soothing." She smiled deprecatingly, "I should know."

"Thanks. Did you want me to add it to your playlist?" He offered. She nodded and handed him her phone. While he uploaded it, she peeked in on Poppy. "Have you ever thought about getting another turtle? You know, just to keep Poppy company for all the hours we're gone."

"I've thought about it, but I think I'll wait a little to see how things progress. No use in getting either of our hopes up." He holds out Carly's phone. "Here you go." She beamed at him, "Thanks Philip."

He waited until he was sure she was gone before resuming his singing,

" _And I'm ready to suffer and I'm ready to hope,_

 _It's a shot in the dark and right at my throat"_


End file.
